Moving Out
by Element Of One
Summary: After an argument with one of the gems, Steven decides that he wants to try living with his father. Greg will do all that he can to take care of his son, and raise him, but he soon finds the task to be a bit difficult doing it all alone. But the gems, however, will always be around to help take care of Steven, and one gem in particular has trouble letting go...


**Moving Out**

 **By: Element of One**

" _Are you sure about this?"_ Greg asked, as he loaded the van with his son's items. _"Yes, Dad! I'm sure!"_ Steven snapped, as he too began loading his personal belongings into the van. Greg stopped what he was doing for a moment, then he watched as his son marched back up the steps to the house to retrieve more items from his bedroom. When he came out, Greg noticed that Pearl was following close behind, with her arms folded. She stood at the top steps, with a look of anger in her eyes, and watched as Steven walked back down towards his father.

" _It doesn't have to be this way!"_ Pearl shouted. _"You know you can always come back home, whenever you'd like! All you have to do is APOLOGIZE!"_

" _I think you just need time to cool off Steven!"_

But Steven ignored her, as he made his way around the side of the van, then he opened the passenger side door and jumped inside. Greg smiled half-heartedly at Pearl, then he shut the back door, and he too walked to the side of the van. Once he opened the driver side door, he sat down inside and put the keys in the ignition, then he proceeded to start the engine. While he was doing so, he became startled as he now saw that Pearl was standing beside the passenger side window.

" _Bye Steven!"_ Pearl snapped, as the tip of her nose was touching the glass and she was glaring right at him. But once again Steven ignored her, as he continued to stare blankly ahead, then he reached into his father's glove compartment to retrieve something. As he held his father's sunglasses in the palm of his hand, he put them on, then simply whispered underneath his breath, _"Drive Dad. Let's go."_ Despite the feeling of awkwardness, Greg forced himself to smile a little at Pearl, then he waved goodbye to her. He began to feel bad, because as he slowly started to drive off, he could tell that her eyes were stingy, and she was fighting to hold back her tears.

When he got enough distance between them, he looked in the rearview mirror, then noticed that Pearl had collapsed to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably. Finally he looked over at his son and asked, _"So what happened!?"_ Steven felt pain his jaw, as he too was fighting back his emotions, then he replied _. "Nothing, dad. I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go home."_ Greg had a confused look on his face, and was baffled at his remark. As he glanced over at his son, he replied, _"Well, if you haven't noticed Steven, this is home! We're sitting in it right now!"_

" _That's not what I meant Dad!"_ Steven sighed. _"I mean, let's just go back to the carwash please!"_ After a while the two became silent, and as Greg continued to drive, then he slowly began to talk. _"Look, I don't know what happened between you and the gems,"_ he exclaimed. _"But whatever it is, you need to work it out with them. I can't take care of you like they can! My space isn't big enough, Steven! You know that!"_

" _It's not all of the gems,"_ Steven whispered. _"It's just Pearl! It's always Pearl!"_

" _So why do you keep fighting with her!?"_ Greg asked. _"What's wrong with Pearl!?"_

But Steven became frustrated, as he looked over at his father and replied, _"I really don't want to talk about it right now!"_

The two became silent again, but then Steven gathered his thoughts and finally asked, _"Dad, so why can't I stay with you? Why can't you take care of me!?"_ Suddenly Greg was startled, as he was caught off guard by Steven's line of questioning, then he too gathered his thoughts and prepared himself to respond. _"It's not that I can't take care of you,"_ he replied. _"It's just that my lifestyle has always been kind of different."_

" _I've always been on my own and I've never had to take care of anyone."_

" _Well maybe this is a chance to change!"_ Steven replied. _"Maybe it's a chance for both of us to change! We can help each other! We can take care of one another!"_

" _What do you think Dad?"_

As Greg thought to himself, he began to reflect on the previous 14 years of his son's existence, to the very moment that Steven was born. He recalls when Rose left, how the gems had all stepped in and filled the role of surrogate mother's towards his son. How they had always been there to take care of Steven, in one way or another. But now the concept dawned on him, that he had an opportunity to be the full time parent. That he was able to take control, and raise his son the best way that he knew how.

The thought seemed scary at first, but when he thought of Rose and how she was optimistic about everything, he began to smile a little.

As he was thinking, he looked over at his son, then simply replied, _"We'll talk about it…"_

" _But first, let's get dinner."_

 _ **Meanwhile, Back at the Temple**_

When Pearl wiped the last few remaining tears from her eyelids, she gradually started to smile a little, as she slowly walked up the steps towards Steven's bedroom and began to observe the surroundings.

" _I knew it!"_ She shouted. _"He'll be back! He didn't take all of his belongings!"_

" _Pearl, you shouldn't patronize Steven,"_ Garnet exclaimed, as she too made her way up the steps. But Pearl ignored her, then she began talking to herself as she proceeded to clean his bedroom.

" _I have to fix his bed! It needs to be made, so it'll be ready for him when he comes back!_ "

Without saying anything Garnet just stood there, in silence, and watched as her teammate began violently fluffing the pillows on Steven's bed, while she was quietly mumbling to herself. _"Are you even listening to me?"_ Garnet asked.

" _Yes,"_ Pearl replied, as she shifted her attention away from the bed. _"I'm listening."_ Without looking at her teammate, however, Pearl began focusing on other objects within the bedroom that seemed out of place, then she immediately began tending to them. As she was walking, she stepped on top of a plate that contained an old pizza crust, then she kneeled down to pick it up.

" _Steven!"_ Pearl sighed. _"I swear child, do you understand the meaning of cleanliness!?"_

Then Garnet chimed in and said, _"See that's what I need to talk to you about."_

" _You need to stop acting so overbearing, and treating him like he's an infant."_

" _Besides, how do you know that plate doesn't belong to Amethyst?"_

" _Oh Please!"_ Pearl laughed. _"If it was Amethyst, there would be no food on the floor! The plate would be gone as well, and I'd be picking up crumbs!"_ Then she finally turned her attention towards Garnet and said, _"I treat him as such, because he acts that way!"_

" _Steven needs to understand that he can't continue to behave irresponsibly!"_

" _When I give him simple instructions to follow, he should just listen, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!"_

" _And also, I don't appreciate his tone with me!"_

Garnet sighed for a moment, then she spoke quietly as she replied, _"I understand how you feel, but I can assure you at no time during the mission was he in any danger."_ Then she gritted her teeth as she continued, _"Don't you think I would've foreseen if he was in any trouble!?"_

" _We made it through the mission just fine!"_

And just as Pearl was about to open her mouth to respond, Garnet cut her off by saying,

" _I already know what you're about to say, and my response is NO YOU ARE NOT HIS MOTHER!"_

Then she glanced over at Rose's painting and finally said, _"None of us can ever be Rose, but we do the best that we can with Steven."_ With that, Pearl folded her arms, then looked down at the floor and quietly said, _"I know I'm not his Mom, I'm not Rose, but he doesn't have to remind me of that."_

" _He didn't have to be so disrespectful."_

Just as Garnet was about to continue further, Pearl once again resumed her cleaning of Steven's bedroom, and became quiet. Garnet then sighed heavily, then she walked back down the stairs, towards the kitchen to where Amethyst was sitting.

" _Was that your plate of food that you left on the floor in Steven's bedroom?"_ Garnet asked. _"Nope,"_ Amethyst replied, as she was reading one of his comic books. _"That was Steven."_

" _He had one slice, while I ate the remaining 7 slices._ Then Amethyst lifted her eyes up from her reading and asked, _"He's coming back thou, right?"_

Garnet turned her attention towards the loft, then she adjusted the corner of her visors and finally said,

" _I'm not sure."_

" _I hope he does, but right now he needs his space…"_

" _He needs to be with Greg…"_


End file.
